Saturday, June 24, 2017

Tirgan or the ancient festival of water on the first day of summer

Ancient
Iranians used to hold different festivals to add some happiness andenthusiasm to
their lives. Every season was started with a special festival like Mehregan
Festival at the first of autumn, Yalda at the first of winter and Norouz on the
first day of spring. According to the calendar, on the first Day of Tir (June
22), which is the fourth Iranian month, the sun is at its highest level and
shines more warmly than any other time of the year. This day is the longest day
and as a consequence the warmest day of the year!

Water Festival, Iran

Considering the importance of this cosmic phenomenon and the intense summer
heat people used to celebrate this day as the Festival of summer or the
Festival of Water which was called Tirgan. On the day of Tirgan festival the
people used to gather by the rivers and enjoy the cool water by swimming or
happily pouring water on each other and most importantly praising (shokr
gozari) God for granting valuable natural gifts like the warm sunshine and the
pure water. This fun festival which is also called “Ab Pashonak”, is still held
in some cities of Iran like Arak and Mahalat and the Iranian Zoroastrians still
do the rituals on this day.